Richard Madden is a Scottish stage, film, and television actor, known for his work in theatre and for his roles in both film and television. Currently he is best known for his portrayal of Robb Stark in the fantasy TV series, Game of Thrones.

Madden had an early taste of fame as a young teen in children’s TV series Barmy Aunt Boomerang. “It was on a completely different scale,” he continues. “But, among my peers, I went through ‘being known’ for a couple of years – and all the great and bad things that come with that. It was strange to be ‘that kid from television’.”

The experience, he says, taught him what might happen after Game Of Thrones. “It set me up to try to embrace everything that comes. I’ll take it in my stride, whatever happens.” For now, though, he just wants to keep things grounded: he hopes that future recognition from Game Of Thrones, if and when it comes, is down to an appreciation of his work and will help him “become a better actor, by getting more diverse jobs”.

Madden had a steep learning curve in the past. After joining the local youth acting school, PACE, to “get more confidence before going to high school”, his talent was spotted early. He was scouted for his first acting role at the age of 11, when he played alongside Jonny Lee Miller in the 2000 cinema adaptation of the Iain Banks novel Complicity. Madden played a young rape victim, an experience which “didn’t bode well for high school,” he says, and led to bullying. It was a complex part for a child.

“It was strange dealing with issues that, at 11, I didn’t understand. You know that rape is a bad thing but, sexually, you don’t understand the violation of it,” he remembers. “But the good thing was I got to meet interesting people. I started working in a profession and had responsibilities like an adult. People had to speak to me like an adult, and I didn’t want it any other way. I didn’t want to be treated like a child because I was performing and doing my job just like the next actor was.”